Eat The Rainbow
We will take you through some of the colours found in fruits and veggies and talk about what they can do for you and your body.
Eating the rainbow seems like a dream come true. But, none-the-less that is a must if you want to get the optimal out the many health benefits found inside all of our lovely fruits and veggies. Eating a diversity of colourful foods can be an easy short-cut to get a good range of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to thrive. And different colours can be associated with different health benefits.
In this week’s ugly veg box, the GRIM box of late September in 2019, you will find bright yellow lemons, orange pumpkin, green pears and cabbage, purple aubergine and amazing red beets. But why is the colour so important (other than it makes an amazing colour-pallet for our boxes)? — The thing is, that these pigments actually are amazing anti-oxidants and nutrients that help our body to stay in balance.
HARVEST THE POWER OF RED
Let’s start with the reds. Two of the pigments found in the red fruits and veggies are “Betalain” (e.g. found in beets) and “ lycopene” (e.g. found in tomatoes and watermelon). Both Betalain and Lycopene are antioxidants and antioxidants protect your body from damage caused by compounds known as free radicals.
When free radical levels outnumber antioxidant levels, they can create oxidative stress in your body. This stress is linked to certain chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s — Healthline.com
This means that these amazing antioxidants are helping the body to fight the free radicals and thereby the diseases that come as a result of this unbalance. On top of that beetroots are also known to reduce blood pressure and enhance sports performance. And tomatoes can naturally improve the quality of your skin. — Amazing right?
GREAT GREENS!
Greens are one of the healthiest foods we can eat. Both the darker leafy greens such as spinach and the more flowery ones such as broccoli are great for you and your body.
Spinach is considered a superfood for a reason and its high levels of both carotenoids and vitamin K gives it some great health attributes. Carotenoids naturally turn into vitamin A in our body. Vitamin A is good for both cell formation, maintaining good eyesight, and many other things.
Brocolli is very nutrition-rich and contains sulforaphane, a compound that may prevent cancer growth. Eating broccoli may also help reduce the risk of chronic disease by protecting against oxidative stress.
SAY YES TO YELLOW
Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C! Especially citrus fruits are high in vitamin C and in particular, vitamin C is key to a great immune system, helping prevent infections and fight disease. Vitamin C is also one of the main components when the body creates collagen. Collagen is what the body uses to create all of its tissue — Such as healthy bones, joints and skin. So get that juicer running and throw in those apricots, oranges, golden beets, carrots, sweet potato, corn and pumpkins!
AGELESS PURPLE
Whether you choose to eat blueberries, aubergine, plums or red cabbage, you will add some great healthy attributes to your diet. This is due to a compound called “Anthocyanins” (which actually is greek for “blue flower”) and is what gives the fruits and veggies their distinct blue/purple colour. In addition to acting as an antioxidant and fighting free radicals, anthocyanins may offer anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer benefits. Anthocyanins have also been shown to have a positive effect on the cognitive function and the ability to enhance memory and help prevent age-related declines in mental functioning.
If you want a cheap alternative to getting your Anthocyanins then red cabbage is the answer.
Red cabbage, which is purple, is one of the best superfood bargains and has the highest level of antioxidants per dollar. — Food Revolution Network
